A Classic Tale
by Higgy
Summary: Maybe Angelus didn’t turn Dru insane? Maybe he turned someone else insane instead. Maybe things would have been a lot different if he did.
1. Prologue

A Classic Tale:

Every story starts with something small. Like the loose pebbles that slip and then grow to become an avalanche. This story is kind of like that. It did start with something small. It started with a baby. The baby grew up into a child, who grew up into a man. That's when it begins to get interesting.

Angelus had been a vampire for over a century when he found him. The boy William. You see Angelus wasn't like other vampires. Instead of just killing to feed, he'd kill for fun. Hours of torture were at his hands and he'd inflict the pain on those stupid enough to cross his path. Or those unlucky enough to catch his eye.

Years of feeding with his Sire Darla had grown boring. They'd fight, fuck, feed and then go off in separate directions before meeting up again. Their unlives were one big game. Angelus and Darla were in London when our story begins.

They were happy again. Both together and spending every night with each other in every way possible. No one could have broken them apart. The game was getting tougher to continue without fights thought. Two in the game was keeping it slow. So another was needed.

This is where William enters.

One night. No different from the others. Slightly cooler if you must know, but the stars were still in the sky and London still stank of sewers. A perfect evening for an obsession to begin.

Walking at a regular pace the vampires were searching for victims. Any old fool that could satisfy their thirst for tonight. Walking becomes boring after a while. The same steps at the same pace. One foot in front of the other and a shift of bodyweight. Nothing enjoyable about it. Until you bump into someone else.

Darla laughed and watched as the man pulled himself back to his feet, mumbling something about them watching where they were going. She quickly turned back the way they were going and began walking again. Angelus just watched. He ignored his Sire's calls and followed the man.

"Angelus?" Darla turned back and followed her childe. No use trying to stop him. "Angelus darling what are you..." she stopped talking as she saw the man from before. Angelus had climbed onto a roof and was watching him as he cried. "Oh." She smiled and placed a hand on her boy's shoulder. "Do you like him?"

The tears fell down his face and dripped steadily onto the hay bales below him. Who could have caused this much pain on such an angel? He was beautiful. Amazing. Angelus wanted him. "Oh yes." He whispered and reached his hand back to feel Darla place her own in it and rub her thumb over his knuckles.

"What are you thinking right now my darling boy?" she purred into his ear and let her free hand play in his hair. All thoughts of being equal were dashed from her mind as she took on her role as Sire. She had to teach her boy the next step. How to take what you want.

Angelus didn't remove his eyes from the sight below him. A small weak human had caught his eye so easily and refused to let his gaze wander. "I want him. I want him Sire. Please?" Angelus was pleading. Pleading to be able to keep the small weak creature that was sobbing beneath them.

Darla smiled and watched as the weak human below them shuddered with his hitching breaths. It would be a great way to teach the boy new rules. "Of course my love. He is yours to do what you will." She looked on as her childe jumped down the opposite end of the barn and approached the snivelling man.

Darla merely watched.

"And I wonder, how is it that a creature of such beauty can be reduced to tears?" Angelus whispered as he neared the boy from behind. The man stood up quickly and some of his dirty blond hair fell in his eyes. Angelus fought the need to stroke the hair from his eyes.

"I...I...I'm fine. Really. No need to stay here." The boy whispered and unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself. Angelus smiled and watched as the boy tried to keep his voice calm. He truly was a wonderful sight. "You...what do you mean beauty?" His voice shook in anticipation and it scented the air perfectly.

"I meant what I said." Angelus hissed and let the unanswered question hang in the air. There was no way he was going to give a straight answer. "A creature of such perfection should not be left alone to drown in his own misery." The boy blinked and looked down upon himself as if to inspect whether the man was joking or not. Truly, Angelus was telling the honest truth.

"Per...perfection?" The man was shaking thoroughly now and Angelus was wondering whether it was because of the chill, or because of him. Either way it just made the boy more intriguing.

"Aye. Perfection." Angelus took a step closer and was thrilled when the man didn't make an attempt to run. "Your truly are something." He whispered and listened as the boy's breathing intensified. "Something beautiful. Something rare. Something effulgent."

The boy nearly fell at Angelus' words, yet the vampire had no idea why. Gathering his legs beneath him and checking that he was stable before talking, the man replied slowly. "I'm...I'm effulgent?"

"Of course." Angelus took another step before reaching out and gently caressing the boy's face. He didn't so much as flinch. This was perfect. "How could you ever be anything less?"

The boy blushed and looked at his feet. "I'm beneath her." Angelus followed his boy's gaze and saw the scraps of paper littered across the floor. On each was a few lines of elegant writing. Her. Was this the same her that had made this boy cry? She deserved a visit,

"Who lad? Who could have made such an elegant young one feel so down?" The dark vampire hissed into his boy's ear. He wanted her to pay. She needed to be punished. Now!

"Cecily. Cecily Addams." The boy whispered and watched as the older man waved his hand in front of his face. "She...she said I was beneath her." He was mesmerised with the entire being of this man. Every movement was perfect and he'd called him effulgent. He...he liked him. No one had ever liked him before. Ever.

"Well you're not. You're beneath no one." Angelus ran his hand over the chiselled cheekbone again and smiled down at the young man. "I'll make sure she understands. Now tell me my boy. Who shall I say the message is from?"

The boy shuddered and watched as the older man raised a hand to brush it down his face. The touch was gentle and tender. "William." He sighed and waited for the hand to stroke again.

"William it is my perfect wonder." Angelus let his fingertips linger over the soft skin beneath his touch. This boy, this William would be his soon. If not now, then soon. His forever. Until the end of time.

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"She's dead William. She was killed last night. Someone stabbed her in the neck."

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"William?" Angelus tapped his shoulder and the young man span round to come face to ace with him. The boy was shaking and his face was streaked with tear marks down his cheeks. "William? You're shaking." Angelus brought a hand to gently cup the fair skin of the boy's cheek, but he pulled away violently.

"You...Cecily...you k...k...killed her..." the whisper was spoken with fear, tears and a sense of knowing. However, instead of gloating, as he usually would have, Angelus merely pulled off his overcoat and wrapped it round the boy's shoulders.

"Now calm down William." He rubbed his hands up and down the boy's shoulders as a way to help warm him up. "You're making no sense. I taught her a lesson. She needed to learn." When William tried to struggle from his grasp Angelus simply wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulders and backed him into a wall. "I can't have anyone being rude to my boy."

"I...I...I'm not your..." The finger on his lips silenced William before he could continue.

"It's not my fault dear, sweet, young William. If she hadn't said those things to you then I wouldn't have had to hurt her would I?" Angelus purred and lowered his lips to brush against the blond's ear. "William, don't you see?" the lips swept closer and barely touched his cheek, ghosting slowly across his lips. "It's your fault she's dead."

"N...No...I..."

"Hush William." Two fingers this time, both placed gently as if they were the touch of a lover. "You're a killer."

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"He was found with a railway spike shoved through his skull."

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"William?" Angelus took a mental note that the boy was wearing the overcoat he'd left him with last night. He smiled and stood closer to the boy, overjoyed when William made no sign to move away.

"You killed them...didn't you? Peter, and Cecily." Angelus smiled and pulled the boy closer by the tops of his arms. William was a clever lad, no doubt about it. Soon he'd have it all worked out.

"Yes we did." Angelus smirked and lowered his head to the side of William's neck, taking in the purely male scents that hovered around the boy. "We killed them both." The music surrounding them at the party seemed to create a barrier between them and everyone else. No one noticed the two men.

Angelus watched as tears fell silently down the boy's face. William was shaking again despite being indoors and surrounded by at least a hundred warm human bodies. "P...please..." he whispered and pushed back from the vampire. "Stay away from me whoever you are. I wont tell the police, just stop it."

"But I had to." The vampire hissed and brushed away a stray strand of hair from his boy's face. "They hurt you and no one hurts my things." William shook his head and sobbed quietly in Angelus' arms. "We can't let them think they're above you my effulgent beauty."

"I'm not...please sir...I'm not..." William whined and sobbed ruthlessly into the older man's jacket. Angelus hushed him and pulled the borrowed overcoat tighter around his boy. "Please...leave me alone..."

"I can't my dear sweet Will. And I can't help it." Angelus pressed his face closer to the boy's and smelt the tears on his face. "It doesn't matter if you tell the police, they'll only think it's you. William, you're a killer."

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"His spine was snapped clean in two."

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William looked up at the sound of footsteps outside his room. Slowly the door opened and he stepped in. The dark figure walked slowly with a certain rhythm and crouched in front of the crying man.

"William my boy...why are you like this?" Angelus whispered and let his hand wander up and down the boy's face. William sighed and didn't pull back at all. "You know I had to."

William shuddered and lent into the touch. He craved this man as much as he loathed him. The brutal killings of his old school bullies and past loves turned hates were all because of this man...and himself. He was a killer. He didn't even know his name.

"I know...He hurt me at school..." The blond whispered and inched nearer to the larger man. For some reason he felt safe when the brunette was near. He felt secure and wanted. Someone wanted him. For the first time in his life he was wanted. And he liked it.

"That's right." Angelus whispered and calmly brushed the hair on the back of William's neck. "And what is the one thing no one's allowed to do?"

"Hurt what's yours."

Angelus smirked and lifted the boy into his arms. Thankfully William didn't even move in protest. He just let the older man take him out of the door and down the street. The strangers that dared to look in disgust as Angelus carried his boy bare foot down the street to his knew home were all found dead the next morning.

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"Are you mine William?" Angelus asked. The boy was lying on his bed and watching the worthless human chained opposite him. The overly large man was shaking and smelled of urine. Disgusting.

"Yes sir. All yours. Always. Forever. I'm a killer." William laughed and pulled a pillow form the head of the bed to lean on. He was lying on his stomach and resting slightly whilst watching the vampire play with his next victim.

"So am i." Angelus replied and flicked open a small dagger. William smiled and clapped his hands slightly. Watching as the fat man trembled when the blade was drawn closer.

"Did the stars make you a killer?" The boy questioned innocently. That was the perfect scent on William. Innocence. Completely young, untouched, unspoiled. Perfectly innocent.

"No my boy. That was Darla." The vampire explained and changed his features to that of his demon. William laughed when the smell of urine increased again. Not that the boy could smell it with his human senses, but he could see the puddle on the floor spreading.

"What did she make you into?" He whispered and pulled at a loose string on the pillow he was on top of. Angelus sliced into the warm flesh of the man's cheek as he spoke his next words.

"A vampire."

William giggled, as the man Angelus was torturing let out a scream. Lifting himself easily off the bed, William made his way over to the vampire and stood in between the two, leaning back on Angelus. "Will my face change too?" He whispered and let Angelus ghost his fangs across his neck.

"Later tonight. But first...I think we should let you show him," he nodded towards the large man, "how much of a killer my boy is." Angelus handed William the knife and pushed him forward slightly to encourage him.

"Hello." William said quietly and watched as the man's blood dribbled down his chin.

"William? Please let me go. Who is this man?" the gentleman blabbered on. Angelus smirked from behind William and wrapped an arm around the boy's waist, pulling him closer to grind against him. William closed his eyes and lent his head back in pleasure.

"I'm your son's Daddy."

Angelus smirked and watched as William laughed whilst plunging the dagger in and out of his father's chest and head repeatedly. The man died on the first hit, but the next few stab wounds caused William to get coated in his blood. "There's a good boy." He smiled when William dropped the knife and rushed into his arms, laughing at the fun of it all.

Angelus grabbed his boy and spun him round before lying back on the bed, licking the man's blood off of his neck and cleaning him slowly. "You're mine William." He whispered and sucked gently on the human's neck. William whimpered in pleasure and arched back.

"Sir...make me yours. Please?" He begged and let Angelus do as he wished. This vampire was his destiny. His past, present and future. Without him, there would be no William.

"Yes..." Angelus hissed and turned the boy to face him. He was now sitting on his bed with God's most beautiful creation between his legs and ready to die. Yet the boy had no idea who he was. To him, he was just Sir or Daddy. "Make you mine. Forever."

William groaned in pleasure as the fangs sank into his neck and the vampire slowly took his life from him. Angelus purred and let his boy fasten his lips onto his bleeding wrist as the boy's real father watched on with a blank glaze.

He'd never told William his true name. Never even so much as whispered it. But it was his last word as a human, and his first word as a vampire. It was that night that Angelus became aware of the power William had inside.

"Angelus..."

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Theme: randomness.

Ideas: in middle of chemistry.

Sense: none.

Plot: in the making

Reviews: Please?


	2. Welcome to the Hellmouth

A steady beat was thumping inside the bronze that night. Teenagers were nodding along and swaying their arms too and fro with the sounds. Blood was rushing about in their veins and vampires were sitting happily watching and waiting for one stupid enough to leave alone.

The only non-vampire person not dancing or attempting to, was the slayer. Buffy Summers was new to Sunnydale and had turned up at the club to see her first friends she'd made. Her watcher had followed her and was trying to explain the importance of being a slayer to her. But why listen?

Sighing slightly she blew him off and grabbed her coat. If the vampires were looking for a meal, she'd be on their list so most likely they'd follow her out. She clipped along in her boots and waited for the first attack.

What she did not expect was for a vampire to be smart enough to sneak up on her. Buffy could feel something following her. But whether her senses were failing or the creature was too far away, she didn't know. But she wasn't sure if it was a vampire or not. Just to make sure she didn't hit an innocent human, she swung up on an old pole and waited it out.

A few seconds passed and she could see no one. Just as she was about to swing down and act normal, she heard a slight sound. Someone was singing.

"Run and catch...run and catch...the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch..." it was soft and almost inaudible to human ears. Buffy was glad for a second that she was the slayer. From one end of the alley, walking towards her was a figure. The stance said male but something was wrong with him. He was short and had slightly wavy, dirty blond hair. It was rather long for usual boys and most of it was tucked behind his ears, except for the few strands that had fallen loose.

The clothing seemed normal enough, if a little dull, but the guy seemed to be giving off a weird vibe. Buffy decided he was probably drunk and trying to make his way home. Swinging down from her hiding place, she managed to land a distance away from the man so she could leave him be and not be attacked if he was that sort of guy.

However, she was about to leave when the guy sat on the floor and began to trace random patterns whilst humming to himself. Buffy decided he was safe enough to talk to and slowly approached the man to get him to go home. "Excuse me? Er...hey there?"

The man laughed and looked up at her revealing intense blue eyes. "Hey there yourself." He grinned and watched as Buffy came closer. She smiled at him and he smiled happily back, quite content to sit and doodle in the dust forever.

"You know, it's dirty down there. Maybe you should go home? You know? Sober up a bit?" She crept closer and held out a hand to help him up. The man simply ignored her and carried on playing in the dirt. She sighed and went to pull him up.

The guy cried out and pulled violently away from her, putting as much distance between the two as possible. "No touching!" he cried and quickly stood up, some more of his hair crept out from behind his ears and fell into his eyes. "No touching! Only Daddy's allowed to touch and you're not him! You're not him!" Buffy was startled and backed away from the man, intent on going home and staying there.

As she made her escape from the drunk, she ran into someone else at the other end of the alley and they both ended up on the floor. Thinking it was an ambush; she quickly flipped onto her feet and took up a fighting stance. The stranger however, took his time is rising to his feet and dusting himself off.

"What do you want?" She questioned and hoping her watcher could hear and would come running with more weapons, she only had a stake and vial of holy water with her.

"The same as you." The stranger replied and watched the drunk intently. "We both do." The blonder of the two was clapping from behind Buffy, so she spun round and pulled out her stake in defence.

Before she could do anything to the blond, the other man had got between them. His expression hadn't changed, but Buffy could tell he was trying to refrain from yelling at her or something. Still wary of the situation, she backed off but kept her stake out, just in case.

"And what's that?" She asked and watched as the blond crept up behind the brunette. He was muttering something quietly, and even with slayer hearing Buffy had no idea what he was saying.

"To kill them." The taller replied evenly. "To kill them all." He turned his head slightly so the other could whisper something whilst hanging onto his shoulder, and Buffy could see just how perfect the guy was. The brunette not the blond. That guy was freaky. "We want to help."

"Who are you?" she let herself relax slightly. This guy was no threat, plus he was fit. However, it was the mad guy she was having a problem with. He was humming to himself and seemed to be talking to no one.

"A friend."

"I don't need anymore friends." Buffy answered to keep them at some distance. She couldn't trust this guy yet. Hanging around with some weirdo in an alley? Not exactly trustworthy material.

"I didn't say I was yours." The dark stranger replied and took a step backwards, into the shadows, towards the other man.

"I don't like it. I don't like it." The blond man stamped his foot and looked up towards the sky. The taller man looked over him and stepped closer.

"What is it? What don't you like hmm?" Buffy was taken aback by the tone the man used. He sounded concerned yet used to it at the same time. She looked on as the blond replied.

He was smiling to himself and humming some tune. Gently tracing the lines of the other man's face without touching, he replied, "The ice queen wants to munch on her merry meal. But the moon doesn't like her dancing with the King anymore." His face split into a grin and he laughed a little whilst draping his arms round the others neck. "It makes me sad."

"Come on. We'll go." The saner of the two took the other's hand and began leading him away from the still confused girl. "We'll see you soon slayer." He called over his shoulder.

Before Buffy could reply, she saw the insane guy pulling away from the other's hand to come back to her. She stood perfectly still as he smiled and lent towards her. He seemed to take a while to remember what he was doing, but eventually he did.

"Three stars. Three lines. One circle." He pulled away to look her in the face and trace the outline. He chuckled a little before pulling back violently and skipping back away to the other man who was waiting. They walked away into the silence surrounding them.

Buffy shivered and ran all the way home.

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Angel sighed and drained the blood in front of him. Drinking from a mug wasn't too bad. Even if it was pig's blood. He'd adapted well over the years, but for Spike, it had been a different matter.

Sometimes he would drink quietly and be as good as gold. But mostly, he would whine and wail about having to drink from a mug. Angel didn't even think it was the fact that it was pig's blood, just the fact that it wasn't in human packaging. His boy had always been difficult.

At the moment he was being quiet. Spike had draped himself on the table and was tracing some patterns through the air. Angel sighed and sat back to watch his boy. He was humming slightly and keeping himself entertained, but it was only a matter of time until he got bored again.

Angel watched as words in different languages were traced through the air. He knew that Spike had no idea what they meant, or if he did he would just forget soon enough. Lines and curves were swiped through the cool air and all the time Spike continued humming his song to himself. "Sire?"

"Yes my boy?" Angel answered and walked over to where Spike was lying on the table. The apartment was small, but he'd soon find somewhere new for them both. He knew Spike hated small places he needed the room.

Spike giggled and bent his head backwards so he could see his Sire upside down. "Why is the little girl so strong?" he grinned when Angel furrowed his brow in confusion. "The strong girl. She killed a baby today. Hmm-bad girl. Will get her in trouble that will."

Standing next to his childe and checking him over slightly, Angel answered softly, so that Spike would understand. "She's a slayer Will. You remember slayers?" He watched as Spike rolled onto his side and stopped tracing patterns suddenly.

He got onto his knees and sat up to look straight at his sire's face. "I know slayers." His hissed and rested his chin on Angel's shoulder so he could whisper the rest straight into his ear. "I killed slayers I did. They tasted of honey and lemon. So bitterly sweet." He pulled away and sat back on his feet, sucking a finger as if remembering the flavours of said slayers.

Angel sighed and pulled the finger away from his childe's mouth. "Spike? Have you fed today?"

Spike pulled away and tugged at his honey blond locks. "Someday I think all my hair shall fall out, and I'll be bald..." he pulled a few strands in front of his eyes and began flicking them back and forth. Angel rolled his eyes and tilted Spike's chin so that he was looking into his eyes.

"Never going to happen." He waited for Spike's nod and smile before continuing. "Now stop changing the subject and tell me. Have you fed today?" Spike looked down and stood up on the table. He placed his feet at the very edge and began walking along like a tightrope walker.

Knowing where this was going, Angel walked alongside and held out a hand for Spike to hold. Sure enough, his childe soon grasped at his hand to steady himself whilst balancing on the edge. "Will? Tell Daddy..."

"I'm not hungry." Spike whined like a child and stuck out his other arm to help him balance.

"You need to feed kitten. You're weak." He pointed out and quickly caught his childe as he slipped. Spike fell into his Sire's arms and smiled at the older vampire. "I got you." Angel reassured his childe and kissed him gently on the nose.

Spike giggled slightly and clambered upwards until he was practically lying across his sire's shoulder. "You got me Daddy." He whispered and began purring gently in his sire's ear. "You got William." Angel secured his grip and walked over to the chair he'd vacated earlier. "All of me."

"That I have." Angel gently set Spike in his chair and knelt next to him so he could brush his hair back. Spike grinned happily and licked at his sire's palm. Angel smiled and stood to go and get his childe something to eat.

When he returned, Spike was having a conversation with a half chewed rabbit toy. It was a very old toy that had been loved to pieces for nearly half a century. Its whiskers were missing, its glassy black eyes were scratched as was its pink button nose, patches of fur had been pulled out in a rage and it no longer had any tail. Spike had adored it ever since he took it from the baby's crib. He'd named it Lucifer.

"Will? William you have to feed." He walked over and knelt next to his boy. Spike ignored him and tugged at the rabbit's ears. "Will? Please?" Angel watched as Spike tried to ignore him. But there was no way he would ignore him when he was asking nicely.

Eventually the younger vampire looked up and held on tighter to his 'pet'. "Do I have to?" he pouted and sniffed at the mug his sire held. "It smells funny. Like ash and wood all together in one." Spike scowled and looked at the mug. "The moon doesn't want me to. It's contaminated."

Having had enough, Angel pulled his childe to his feet and sat in the chair before pulling the younger vampire on top. Spike whined and struggled as Angel wrapped a strong arm across his chest and brought the mug to his childe's lips with the other.

"You will drink this. I don't care what the moon says. You will drink this!" He growled and tipped the blood towards his childe's mouth. Spike opened his to protest and found himself swallowing the blood. Blood dripped out of the sides of his mouth and onto his tee shirt. Angel made sure every drop was gone before throwing the mug across the room and listening to it shatter.

They played this game everyday. Spike wouldn't feed so Angel made him. Then came the part that Spike lived for. "Sire..." he wailed and wrapped his arms round Angel's neck. Angel sighed and patted his childe's back as he sobbed into his chest. "'M sorry...I didn't mean to be bad..." he cried and nuzzled at his sire's chest.

"I know..." Angel answered evenly and lifted his childe into his arms. Spike hung onto his sire and began to lick and kiss at his face to beg forgiveness. Angel grinned and laid his childe on their bed. "I know Will, but you still have to feed. Everyday my boy. You know Sire only worries about you..."

Spike nodded and continued to lick and nip at his sire's face, still not feeling forgiven enough. "Please Sire... I'm your boy..." Blood smeared across Angel's chest as his childe unbuttoned his shirt and moved downwards. Before he could get any further, Angel grabbed him beneath the arms and pulled him on top.

"I know you are Will. And I'm going to take care of you." He murmured before flipping them both over so he was on top. Spike watched quietly as his sire kissed and licked his way across his chest. He smiled and began giggling to himself.

Angel looked up and waited for Spike's funny moment to pass. Sometimes Spike needed a while to adjust to the change of mood and it always included giggling. However, Angel was not pleased when a look of distress crossed his childe's face soon after. "Will? What is it?"

Spike lay back and clutched at his head with his hands. Moaning loudly he rocked himself back and forth whilst the voices told him what was going to happen. Angel crawled back up the bed and held his childe close to his non-beating heart as he whimpered with the force of the vision. Spike wailed and moaned loudly before falling silent.

"You okay? What did you see baby?" Angel asked after a while of silence. Spike just started giggling again. Louder this time and picking at Angel's open shirt.

"The girl's going to get hurt." He giggled and bent down to take some of the material in his mouth. He chewed on it for a while before Angel pulled it back. "The strong girl. She's going to fight our big daddy and be very sick afterwards." He cackled a little before whining like a puppy and curling into his sire's arms.

"It's okay Will. We'll sort it out." Angel soothed and rubbed the dirty blond's back comfortingly. Spike was shaking and wailing into his chest, so he pulled up the duvet they shared and wrapped it around the quivering boy.

This was going to be a hell of a year.

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Wow! How many reviews did I get for the first chappy? Okay, here's the deal. Let's see if we can get more for this one, and I'll update faster than I did last time! Deal?


	3. Teacher's Pet

Angel watched as his childe fidgeted in his sleep. Spike could never sleep calmly and could never lie fully straight in a regular bed. For now he was curled up at the bottom of Angel's king-sized bed, covered by nothing more than a thin sheet as he decided the room was burning last night.

The older vampire hadn't even questioned it. He didn't anymore. It was just a lot easier not to. Spike was able to look after himself mostly. Well… at least when it came to keeping his temperature constant. Mainly because it was just room temperature. But if he thought it was hot then it was easier to just let him cope the way he wanted. Otherwise there would have just been tears.

Getting out of bed quietly, so not to disturb the still slumbering blond, he moved into the kitchen to make them both some food. Hopefully Spike would be a little more co-operative today and just drink his blood from the mug. After last week's fiasco, he felt Spike was due for a quiet day.

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"Giles I am telling you, this guy was really weird. He seemed to be in his own little world. You know…talking to unseen voices and rocking back and forth." The slayer had her feet resting on the edge of her chair as she curled up in the seat. The meeting with the two men a while ago had unnerved her slightly and she wasn't looking foreword to the patrol later on tonight, in case she met them again.

The Brit sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose. His slayer was truly unprofessional, clearly not interested in her duties and it worried him that she was more interested in two men than the fate of the world. "Yes Buffy...I understand your concern, but let us set our minds to more pressing matters. Not something that happened three weeks ago. Such as the death of your teacher maybe?"

"Yeah Buff. I'm sure if these guys come back to bite us in the ass, literally or metaphorically, Giles wont mind us pointing fingers and saying 'I told you so'." Xander smiled and flicked his black hair from his eyes. Being the joker he was, he hadn't quite caught on to the severity of the situation and was just trying to make everyone relax slightly.

Giles merely rolled his eyes. "Yes Xander. I'm sure you'll have time for that, that is of course if whatever's killed Dr. Gregory doesn't come back and kill you first."

From in front of the laptop, Willow gave her best friend a small smile of encouragement to try and boost his spirits. "It probably wont happen Xander. We don't know why it killed him, so there's no connection so you're probably safe. Giles is just being Mr. Grumpypants." She smiled and laughed to herself before receiving a glare and quieting down to research.

"Giles…I really have a feeling these guys are a major source of wiggins. If we don't track them and research them now it could get seriously out of hands." She jumped off of her chair and went to stand in front of her watcher, who walked away and went to retrieve a book he needed. These children were nothing but trouble when they wanted to be.

"Out. Go on. All of you out." Giles waved his arm in the vague direction of the door whilst flicking through a book on flesh eating parasite demons, in case the murderer was held within. "I can't be doing with you three waffling on in my ear as we try to find out what has done this. Now go and… and party down at your club or what have you." Turning his back to the children, Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose where his glasses were pinching and tried to think of a case like this before.

Buffy, Xander and Willow all slipped out silently in case they were forced to research more and face the watcher's wrath.

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Angel was getting worried about his childe. Throughout the whole day Spike had been silent. He hadn't argued once and had eaten his blood quickly and quietly straight from the mug. Usually Spike would have a wonderful time annoying his sire and making as much noise as possible.

"Spike? Do you want some weetabix?" he asked and watched as his boy merely shook his head. No sound. Spike had never refused weetabix before. Something was seriously wrong. "Are you sure? I can mix it up with your blood if you like. Make it all crunchy and mushy." Another shake of the head.

Something was defiantly wrong. Spike wasn't even fidgeting. No constant tap of his fingers on the side. Usually he founds the sounds to be annoying, but the absence of them was beginning to make the place seem dead.

"Do you feel sick William? Do you have a headache or a stomach ache?" the brunette went over and leant in front of his childe who was sitting under the table. "I can make it better…do you want some sire blood?" another decline.

"Spike? Please tell sire what's wrong. Daddy's getting worried baby…"The blond shook his head and hid his face behind his hands as if playing hide and go seek. Spike seemed to have the same views as a child. If he couldn't see you, then you couldn't see him. At least that's what Spike found comforting.

"William!" That made him look up. "Tell me what's going on!" he grabbed the younger vampire's shoulders and shook him roughly. The younger of the two whimpered and tried to steady himself by holding onto Angel's own shoulders, but to no avail.

After a few more minutes of shaking and yelling at the distraught vampire, Angel finally gave up and pushed him backwards so the blond was sprawled across the floor. Spike looked up slowly, in fear of being punished again for his silence. "I'm going out to get more blood. Don't you dare move from that spot."

Watching as his sire went through the door and into the cold night air, Spike shook his head before freezing and blanking out the rest of the world. If nothing else was there, he had no cause to move. If he didn't move, daddy wouldn't be mad. If daddy wasn't mad, he might not ever do that again.

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"Willow, I don't know what you're problem is. I'll call you back after I get home from Miss French's. I'm helping her out with this model. Yes I told you. Oh… well I'm telling you now. Look I'll be an hour… two hours at the most." Xander rolled his eyes as he grabbed his shoes and pulled on a jacket. "All right, I'll talk to you soon. Love you, bye."

He grinned and called out to his parents that he'd be home later before slamming the door on his way out. As if they'd truly notice he was gone. By the time he got home, his mum would have thrown at least three plates at his dad and his father would be passed out on the floor somewhere in a puddle of his own vomit.

God, life was good for Xander Harris.

But everything was beginning to turn around. He was on his way to his seriously hot new cover teacher's house. With her in it. Soon he'd be there as well. Just her and him. Together. Alone. He grinned to himself and tried not to be so nervous about it.

She was a teacher. It wasn't as if she would laugh at him or anything. She was there to teach. God he was in need of teaching. Being in the Scooby gang made him even more nerd and geek material than before. There was little to no chance of him ever getting a girlfriend and now it seemed the world was setting things straight.

Somehow his feet had carried him to the correct address and he found himself faced with the door. Oh god. "To knock…or not to knock…that is the question…" he mumbled to himself and raised a fist. Holding it about and inch away from the surface of the wood, he paused and thought about what he was going to do.

He gulped as the thoughts ran through his head. This wasn't some stupid thing he could pull away from. It was either yes or no. If he chose yes, he would be the man. The guys to bone the cover teacher. That was a respected title in any high school.

If he didn't, he'd be even more of a loser. There's no doubt he'd be rejected even more and forced to hang out with the geeks at the chess club. Even Buffy and Willow wouldn't want him. That's how bad it could get. So technically, this was for the good of everyone. He couldn't leave Buffy and Willow and doing this was the only way for that fate not to become reality.

He knocked.

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"Slayer!" Buffy spun around, ready to take on whatever it was that had called out to her. It seemed to be a demon war cry almost. Although, she was surprised that the call wasn't so threatening and a lot less growly than usual. Glancing through the darkness of the cemetery and seeing the equally confused faces of Giles and Willow, she looked for the source of the voice.

"Yeah…that would be me…" She held her stake a little higher and stood purposefully in front of Willow and Giles. "I'm the slayer…tiny little easily attackable girl here to kill you…want to come out and prove me wrong?"

Giles nodded behind her at her attempts to lure out the attacker. At least she had picked up one tip. If in doubt, wait it out. Let your opponent make the first move, then you can wait for them to make a mistake. Willow nudged Buffy's arm with her elbow as she saw a shadow approach them from their right.

The shadow shook their head and seemed to be unfazed by the stake the slayer was wielding. "I'm not here to fight you…" the voice was male and deep. Buffy tensed and didn't let up her fighting stance.

"Heard that line before, excuse me for not believing a could be monster." She smirked and flicked her hair back from her eyes. Willow was armed with a cross in her hand and she held it out in front of them all, causing the slowly approaching stranger to back off a step or two.

"Okay." The man held up his hands in submission and stepped to his side into a patch of moonlight. "Keep yourself armed, but I'm really not here to fight."

"Then what are you here for? Big, strong, muscly and well built men don't walk around in the dark creeping up on girls for fun." Willow paused and thought about it. "Well…actually I guess they do…if they're that kind of guy…but they're gross and…and… you don't really look that bad for a guy. No! I didn't mean it like that…"

Giles cut off Willow's babbling easily. "What do you want then?"

"I need your help."

"It's him!" Buffy cried out and took a step forward with her stake. "Giles, this is one of the guys I was telling you about. In the alley." Giles nodded and took a bottle of holy water out from his inner pocket.

"Listen, we don't have time for this. Something has happened. Spike…the guy I was with before, he's not at home. He wouldn't even think of moving unless I told him to. Someone's taken him. I need your help in case I can't handle it." The voice was calm but spoken with a sense of urgency. "Please."

"How can we trust you? We don't even know who the hell you are." Buffy pointed out. She didn't have time for some guys problem. She had to save the world from evil monsters. Not find some guys friend. Even if it was maybe a monster who took him.

"My name's Angel. You can carry weapons and I'll go first, just please help me find him."

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Spike whimpered and pulled his knees to his chest, hugging them to him. He'd promised not to move. He hadn't. He'd been so good and so still. Not even blinked, his eyes hurt so much but he still hadn't done it. Daddy had told him to stay there, and he did. He had. The small space on the carpet before the front door. He'd been so still. Not breathed. Been good.

So he couldn't move when it came to get him. He was paralysed with fear anyway, but if he hadn't promised, he could have probably ran or cried out. But he didn't. He was so good.

It had clicked and hissed and sniffed and laughed before grabbing him and dragging his frozen body back. He had to move then, wriggling and writhing and crying to try and get free. He wasn't proud but just wanted to go home. Wanted to curl up where he'd been left and wait for daddy to get home.

But it just kept on dragging and dragging him away. Further and further from home. The thing kept on clicking and looking at him with glittering eyes. He hiccuped as he thought back to when he was thrown on the floor as they got here. His head was still hurting and he could feel the trail of blood leaking from the split in his head. He didn't like his hair being red.

Xander slowly started to come around. "What the...?" He groaned as he remembered what Miss French had done to him. That evil bitch. Checking himself okay, he was happy to find that nothing felt broken and he barely even had a headache. He spotted a small man and crawled up to the bars of the next cage. "Hey, you all right?"

Spike looked up as he heard movement from the other person present. The boy was looking at him. His brown hair was flopping in front of his eyes, making Spike want to bat it away and twist it round his fingers. It looked so soft. Like a kitten's fur. He so desperately wanted a kitten of his own.

He soon realised the boy was asking him a question. He cocked his head to the side in silent question and waited for the boy to repeat himself. "Are you all right? Are you okay?" Silently Spike shook his head and whimpered whilst pointing to his head. The trail of blood was steadily getting thicker and he didn't know how to fix it, daddy always did it for him.

"Jees you're bleeding…" Xander looked around himself for something to help. There was only straw and a bucket in his cage. Ew… Okay, think Harris. What do you do if someone's bleeding from the head? Keep them calm. Okay. "Don't worry all right? We're gonna get out of here and let the doctor have a look at that when we do."

Spike hiccuped and wiped at his eyes as the pain began to get too much for him. He didn't want to be here. "I want my daddy…" he whimpered and began to curl up in misery. His head was throbbing and the blood was dribbling down his neck onto his nice clean tee.

"Erm…okay buddy…" Okay, freaky… a guy who looks a little older than me wants his daddy? Maybe he's just delusional? Either way the guy looked like he was in distress, and Xander knew that was never good if you were injured. "Just hold tight a second…"

Spike watched in fascination as the boy began to batter at the bars between their cages. He hiccuped again and felt his tears mix with the blood on his cheek. This boy wasn't so bad. He didn't seem mean or scary at all. With a shudder, two of the bars came down and the boy was able to crawl through into Spike's cage. "Hey there. I'm Xander, what's you're name? Can you remember?"

Luckily he could remember his first aid training. He tore a strip of cloth from the bottom of his shirt and folded it into a patch. He slowly moved forward, only to find the other guy was shuffling away.

"Hey, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you dude." Xander held out a hand slowly. "I'm just going to mop up this blood okay? Spike whimpered again, hiding his face in his knees, shaking madly. "Hey, it's okay. What's the matter?" Spike gave a shaky mewl and pointed out of their cage to the thing before them.

"Holy Shit!" Xander jumped back alarmed. Spike gave a small sound that sounded like an agreement. The giant…whatever it was, seemed to be ignoring them for the time being. It was crouching over something in the corner. Xander had a feeling he didn't want to know what it was.

"Want my daddy to come and find me. The strong girl will help him but he wavers and falls to the jail. I can't see the stars… they're screaming for me but I can't see them…" Spike began to wail and curl up tighter, pulling at his hair and causing more trauma to his head.

"Hey…shh…calm down all right?" Xander grabbed the other man by his shoulders and soon found himself being clung onto by the blond. "Look… we have to be quiet all right? Can you do that buddy?" Christ this guy really was out of it. Talking about the stars? That was some serious head injury. "Can I fix up your head now?"

Slowly the vampire nodded and began fidgeting with his sleeve as Xander held his chin with one hand and began dabbing up the blood with his makeshift cloth in the other. He whimpered every so often as Xander hit a sore bit of flesh and was comforted by the boy's hushes and soothing tone. "You're going to be fine. I just need to fix this with something…here, hold this on your head like this…that's right." Xander made sure the blond was holding the patch correctly before tearing off another strip of his shirt. Wrapping it over the patch the blond was holding, he tightened it up with a knot and made sure it was securing his make do bandage in place.

He nodded at his handy work and sat back to check it over. "There. It's not the greatest bandage in the world, but it'll do until we can get you to a hospital." The blond just blinked at him quietly and looked away when it seemed Xander wasn't going to. The brunette frowned as the other man began chewing on his shirtsleeve quietly. "So…you don't talk much do you?"

Another quiet look before turning away. Xander sighed and looked at the tattered state of his tee shirt. "Can you at least tell me your name? I don't want to have to call you buddy all the time." There was a moment's silence as the blonde held his sleeve between his teeth, not moving, just holding. "Guess not then…" Xander looked over to where the demon was molesting the…whatever's.

"William."

"What?" The word was so quiet that he'd imagined it. "William? Is that your name?" The blond nodded soberly, looking upset about the fact. "Okay William, we're going to get out of here. We just have to be calm and think of a way to escape…"

They both jumped as someone, or something smashed through the small basement window. The giant insect swivelled its head round to gaze at the intruder before letting out a high pitched squeal of some sort. More figures followed through the now broken hatch and gathered to surround the demon.

"Or we could just wait for people to come and rescue us…" Xander added and jumped back from the bars of the cage when the bug tried to grab her captives. Spike started at it quietly and backed into Xander, huddling close and whispering to himself as he attempted to hide in the boy's shirt.

Taken aback by the stranger's actions, Xander was only able to sit back and flinch as the demon was taken care of. He could hear Giles shouting out advice as Buffy gave a quirky comment before kicking its demon ass. Willow had found the keys to their cage and was fumbling with them, trying to help them escape.

A loud gargling sound echoed around the basement as the giant insect burst. Willow managed to get the door open and was surprised when Xander didn't immediately scramble out. "Xander are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No…" the brunette admitted. "But I have a…friend on my lap and refusing to move…" Xander shifted the lighter man's weight slightly and tried to get him to look at me. "He's pretty badly injured…got a gash to his head and doesn't really make much sense…"

"Give him here."

"Who the…"

"Daddy!" Spike's head immediately shot up and he frantically began looking for his sire. Scrabbling about and catching Xander in a sensitive area whilst escaping the cage were only minor details as he was pulled into two strong arms. "I was good, I was. I stayed still even when she hurted me and the stars told me to move but I didn't want to because daddy said no so I didn't and then…then…"

"Hush Will…" Angel cradled his boy's head close and nuzzled at the makeshift bandages. They smelled of the boy in the cage. He'd helped him. Even when he had no idea what the outcome would be. "You're safe with sire now my boy." He turned to the others he had entered with. "He's injured. I'm taking him home slayer. Thank you for your help. Anytime you need me, I will be happy to help." Handing over a piece of paper containing his address and number to the watcher, Angel scooped his childe into his arms and left. Leaving the others to handle themselves.

"So let me get this straight… A giant bug took me because I'm still a virgin? She wanted me to fertilise her eggs before biting off my head. And she probably wanted to do the same to William as well…"

"Well he didn't really look like a virgin…" Willow explained and pulled a thoughtful face.

"You're telling me I look like a virgin?"

"No! I mean…no! Is it really a bad thing?" The red head asked and looked up at her best friend. She really had no knowledge of men.

"For a guy yes!"

"Well I didn't mean to…"

"So who was the other guy then?" Xander rolled his eyes and tried not to get into a fight. He really needed to focus on getting through school. Meanwhile he'd find that special girl. He hoped.

"Calls himself Angel. Thinks he can help us fight the monsters. He was the one that led us to you."

"But how did he know where I was?"

Buffy shrugged and carried on her story. "I have no idea. I'm just glad he did. Otherwise we might not have been in time." She hugged Xander's arm comfortingly and Willow did the same on the other side. The brunette smiled and held his girls close.

"So this virginity thing…"

"Ew! Xander!" The girls grabbed their bags and ran off to their next class with Xander running behind, trying to catch up whilst asking what was wrong.

And I'm back online! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating, but I've kind of had no net for 2 months and also exams. But I have finished my GCSEs and now have over eight weeks of doing nothing. So I can guarantee I will be updating soon enough. Please review and I apologise for not updating before, but I really couldn't.

Luv Higgy xxx.


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